Robin Williams Estate: The Trust, the Tiburon Dispute and the 25-Year Likeness Ban

By Eric Ridley, attorney, Ridley Law. Updated October 2026.

What was Robin Williams’ net worth when he died?

No court filing I loaded states a total, and the two named estimates are far apart. His widow’s attorney, James Wagstaffe, said in October 2015 that the estate was estimated at more than $100 million, the Los Angeles Times reported. Forbes contributors Danielle and Andy Mayoras wrote in August 2014 that recent estimates put his net worth at $50 million, which they said may be high, and that his real estate left about $25 million in equity.

The Forbes piece was written before the estate filings, and the attorney’s figure is one side’s description in a dispute, so treat both as estimates. Under the trust, the Times reported, his children receive future income from his acting career, life insurance proceeds, a property in Napa, liquid assets and valuable personal belongings. His widow stays in the Bay Area home and receives living expenses, her attorney told the AP.

Cite this page: Ridley Law, “Robin Williams Estate: The Trust, the Tiburon Dispute and the 25-Year Likeness Ban,” ridleylawoffices.com/celebrity-estates/robin-williams-estate/, October 2026.

This page covers the Robin Williams estate as the court filings and news reports describe it. It is part of our guide to celebrity estates. Every fact below names the outlet that reported it. Where the sources are silent, the page says so.

Did Robin Williams have a will or a trust?

He had a trust. CBS News reported on March 31, 2015 that the Robin Williams Trust had been filed as an exhibit in the dispute over his personal property.

That filing is how the public learned what the trust said. A will is filed with the probate court and becomes a public record, as we explain in is a will a public record in California. A trust usually stays private. Here, a court fight put it into the record.

The AP reported that the trust gave his children his memorabilia and awards in the entertainment industry, along with some other specific personal items, according to court documents.

What did Susan Williams and the children fight over?

The AP reported on February 2, 2015 that Susan Williams filed papers in San Francisco Superior Court in December 2014. She asked the court to exclude the contents of the Tiburon home she shared with Williams from the jewelry, memorabilia and other items he said his children should have. She also said some of his personal items were taken without her permission.

The children are Zachary, Zelda and Cody. The AP reported that they answered that she was “adding insult to a terrible injury” by trying to change the trust agreement. Her attorney, James Wagstaffe, told the AP she was only asking the court for guidance on what certain terms in the trust meant.

The AP reported that Susan Williams argued he wanted her to keep living in the Tiburon home, so the children’s items were the specific ones kept at another home he owned in Napa. The children disputed that reading and said the trust set no limit by location. The AP also reported that the two sides disagreed over items in storage, watches and memorabilia. The reports don’t show a court ruling on either reading.

The AP reported that lawyers for both sides were scheduled to appear before a San Francisco probate judge on March 30, 2015.

How did the Robin Williams estate dispute end?

The AP reported on October 2, 2015 that the widow and the three children reached a settlement. The terms weren’t disclosed, and the settlement remained subject to court approval.

The AP reported that trustees filed a petition in San Francisco County Superior Court stating the parties had settled on September 25, 2015 and asking to dismiss Susan Williams’ petition for guidance. According to the AP, the judge had encouraged both sides to settle out of court.

Her attorney told the AP she would stay in the Bay Area home and receive living expenses to maintain it for the rest of her life, and that she would keep a watch he often wore, a bike bought on their honeymoon, and their wedding gifts. He said a trust would be created to pay the home’s expenses. The children’s attorney, Meredith Bushnell, told the AP the children were happy to have the matter behind them. The sources loaded for this page don’t include the court’s approval order.

What is the 25-year restriction on Robin Williams’ name and likeness?

CBS News reported, citing The Hollywood Reporter, that the trust restricts use of his likeness until 25 years after his death, so no authorized advertisements featuring him until at least August 11, 2039. CBS also reported that the provision blocks anyone from using a hologram of Williams or digitally inserting him into a film.

CBS reported that he passed the rights to his name, signature, image and likeness to the Windfall Foundation, a charitable organization set up by his legal representatives. CBS noted The Hollywood Reporter’s view that the move could be a reaction to evolving technology and to the dispute between Michael Jackson’s estate and the IRS over valuing posthumous publicity rights. See our page on the Michael Jackson estate.

NPR reported in October 2025 that AI-generated videos of Williams had circulated and that his daughter Zelda asked fans to stop sending them to her.

California also sets a default. Civil Code § 3344.1 makes unauthorized commercial use of a deceased personality’s name, voice, signature, photograph or likeness actionable, and bars suits over uses after 70 years from death. A trust term like Williams’ is a private choice about who may license those rights and when.

How much was Robin Williams’ estate worth?

None of the court-based reports cited here gives a total, so this page doesn’t state one. Figures that circulate online without a court filing or major outlet behind them aren’t reliable. The two named estimates are in the net worth section near the top of this page.

Can a California court interpret a trust?

Yes. Under Prob. Code § 17200, a trustee or beneficiary can petition the court on the internal affairs of a trust, including questions about what a trust instrument means. Where a trust leaves room for two readings, a court may have to choose one. In this case, the parties settled before the reports show any ruling.

What this means for your own plan

The Williams fight was about household contents and personal items. The trust listed items for the children, and the widow’s side read the list differently as it applied to the home she lived in.

If you want specific items to go to specific people, name them and say where they are. If a spouse will keep living in the home, say what stays with the house. Read the trust funding page and the trust funding checklist so the assets actually sit in the trust. If you’re worried a family member will challenge the plan, read about the no-contest clause and trust contests versus will contests.

If your name or work has commercial value, the trust can say who controls it and for how long. That’s a drafting choice to make with an attorney.

More celebrity cases: the Michael Jackson estate, the Prince estate, and the Chadwick Boseman estate, where there was no will.